Hair Chalking 101

Happy 4th of July!! I was going to post about my nails that I did for today, but I figured I'd save that for another day. :) I've had a few questions about how the ins and outs of temporary Hair Chalking that I tried a few days ago. Colored ends have been trendy for quite some time now and this is a great temporary alternative for a fun night out or a couple of days without a crazy commitment. After, my cousin, Alyssa suggested we try it, we watched Kandee Johnson's Youtube Video on it.

Watch it there^

It seemed easy enough. You only need:

• Soft Pastels from the craft store (Not oil pastels)
• Water in a squirt bottle (optional)
• Gloves (optional, but less messy)
• Towels and clothes you don't mind getting messy
• Blowdryer
• Curling iron or straightening iron

1. Brush out your hair before beginning and get your work area set up. We used the bathroom without a squirt bottle and without gloves, but we understand why you'd want both of these things.
2. Wet your hair strand and when I say wet, I mean get it soaked, so the color sticks better. 
3. Using your white soft pastel, completely coat your strand. 
4. Quickly apply your chosen color to your still wet hair. Cover it completely and fully because it will fade. If you think you're doing too much, you're probably not. I promise. The trick is to rub downwards in a fast motion to avoid knots while coating well.
5. Repeat steps 2 - 4 on a few more strands and then blow dry almost completely.
6. Continue doing steps 2 - 4, stopping every so often to blow dry until you're satisfied. 
7. After finishing all of the strands you want, use your curling iron or straightening iron to set the color. Do not brush or comb as the color will transfer easily. Touch up color as necessary if you're not satisfied.

Tips

• Soft Pastels make a HUGE mess. We broke a lot of them and our counter, hands, and clothes were covered.
• They transfer easily, so don't lay or sit against anything you don't want rainbowed afterwards. I slept with a towel on my pillow just in case. 
• Your chalked hair will not feel soft, it may feel slightly crunchy. This is normal. There is chalk in your hair. 
• Make sure your hair is completely saturated. The color adheres the best to soaked hair as I said.
• It's time consuming and you will get frustrated because it takes a lot to get a rich color.
• White soft pastel isn't necessary, so when you run out don't worry.
• You will see the color best in person and in different lighting, pictures don't pick up the colors very well.
• Don't expect to keep this for more than a day or two because you won't be able to brush through your stiff hair without wincing. 

We were pleasantly surprised at our fun new temporary locks. Alyssa did a variety of colors: purples, reds, green, and even some blue. I stuck with minty green and teal on my ends.

Let me know if you try this super fun and inexpensive hair chalking that might be really cool in Red, White, and Blue for the 4th!!

xx - Dan